Parliament has been dissolved. The Royal Proclama- tion was issued
on Tuesday, and the meeting of the next Parliament is fixed for August 4th next. One unopposed election, that of Lord Randolph Churchill, was taken yester- day, and by the date of our next issue, the country ought to know bow the boroughs have gone. The great doubt, however, is about county seats, and it will be a fortnight before the composition of the new House of Commons is accurately ascertained. The issue remains as uncertain as ever, and betting on 'Change, which has been heavy, is said to be even. The Queen's Speech was read on Tuesday, but excited extraor- dinarily little attention. It had, in fact, no interest whatever, being a colourless recapitulation of the Acts passed during the Session, of which the most important were the Small Holdings Act, the Irish Education Act, the Act for enlarging Legislative Councils in India, and the Act for strengthening discipline in the Church of England. The only sentence in the Speech which is in any way novel, is the statement that this Parliament, which has lasted six years, has been "highly fruit- ful in beneficent legislation." That fact, though strictly true, will not, we fear, be considered by the people when they elect its successor.
Previous page
